


Sunken Photo

by y0w0suke



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: ..kinda, Angst, But im the one whos doing this to him, I feel bad for ryuji tbh, Its gonna get b a d, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Palace Owner! Ryuji, Ryuji has a palace, SO, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Hatred, Slow Burn, palace au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2019-10-26
Packaged: 2020-10-13 17:13:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20586086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/y0w0suke/pseuds/y0w0suke
Summary: There..is no way.How can persona users have one?But the way the metanav beeps to them saying his name.."Canadite Found."𝙍𝙮𝙪𝙟𝙞 𝙎𝙖𝙠𝙖𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙤 𝙃𝙖𝙨 𝘼 𝙋𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚.(Discontinued)





	1. Pitty Party

**Author's Note:**

> Ryugoro server: y'all are fucking gods for helping me get a path for this story and I love each and every one of y'all  
Anyway  
Who's ready for angst?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When they get back, Ryuji quickly puts his hood up and storms back home. Goro stares in somewhat disbelief as the others do..nothing.
> 
> They don't chase after him, ask him if he's ok.
> 
> Nothing.

Crow glances outside of Morgana's bus form window as the red and blacks pass bye. He sighs and turns to look at the others. 

Queen is driving peacefully with Noir next to her sleeping, Oracle is playing with her laptop, Fox seems to be sketching in his notebook that he always carries around, Panther and Joker seem to be in a conversation, and Skull..

Skull is staring out the window in boredom, sighing softly. Goro frowns softly, tapping Ryuji's shoulder, making the other member jump. "You ok?" He asks quietly, tilting his head.

The blond laughs, waving his hand. "Ehh, I'm fine! I've just been.." he lifts his mask to rub his eyes, smiling softly at the detective. "I've just tired recently, that's all." 

Akechi looks at him, a look of disbelief on his face. "Hey, what's with that face?" Skull asks, flicking Crow's mask with a small laugh. "The Detective Prince has a caring side?"

Akechi looks away, a small blush forming on his face. Thank god his mask was there. "S-shut it, Sakamoto.."

"Hey, shadow coming up!"

The whole gang stop what they are doing (Yusuke and Futaba packing their stuff as quickly as they can.) Ryuji looks at Akira, a bright smile on his face. "So, who's on the front lines Joker?"

"Hm.." The leader thinks for a moment, before pointing. "Crow, Skull, and Panther." 

Ryuji jumps out of Morgana's bus form, fistpumping the air. "Let's do this!!"

"Hey, what's that enemy's weakness, Oracle?" Akira asks, spinning his dagger as he glances at the enemy. 

"It seems like its weak to electricity!" They can hear her voice ring out. Joker looks at Skull, who just smiles and places a hand on his mask. "Alright, Captain Kidd!!"

.

.

.

.

The blond stares at his hand, confusion and fear on his face as he looks up at the monster getting ready to charge an attack at him.

"Skull!!"

He feels a body slam on top of him to push them out of the way. He coughs in surprise, looking up at see Crow on top of him. His face heats up in embarrassment. Oh  _ god _ -

Akira stays there shocked for a second, before shaking his head and switching to a persona with an electric attack.

Him, Panther, and Crow do an all out attack while Ryuji sits on the sidelines, looking down at his hands. "W..what even.."

"Hey!"

He jumps up at the sudden noise, looking up from his hands to see Mona running up to him, an angry look on his face. "Huh-"

"You could have gotten Crow hurt!!" 

"I-"

"You need to be more careful! How can you not tell that you could summon a persona?!"

"I..I didn't-"

"God you're such a-"

"Mona." The cat stops on his rambles, looking up at Crow. He frowns softly, shaking his head. "Lay it off of him for now." Mona sighs and walks away, turning back into the car while everyone else gets in.

Goro extends his hand to the thief on the floor, a look of sympathy on his face. "Come on, we should really get going." 

The blond scoffs, letting himself up with a small wince of pain. "I'm..fine.." he mumbled, limping to the bus with small grunts of pain when he lands on one of his legs.

The detective frowns again, but follows the blond back to the bus.

The way back was silent. No typing of Futaba's laptop, no sketching noises from Yusuke drawing, nothing.

When they get back, Ryuji quickly puts his hood up and storms back home. Goro stares in somewhat disbelief as the others do..nothing. 

They don't chase after him, they don't ask him if he's ok.

**Nothing.**

Goro politely says his goodbyes as fast as he can before quickly chasing after Ryuji. "Sakamoto!!"

He flinches at his name being called, and turns to look at Akechi. "O-oh..um..hey Akechi.."

The detective gives a soft smile, his deep breathing from running after him. "Hey."

"You..want anything?" He asks, tilting his head.

Goro sighs. "You want me to walk you home?"

"...why?"

"You just seems like you need some company after you couldn't summon your persona today."

Goro could see Ryuji visibly flinch at that, his hands gripping his sleeves hard.

"I'm fine." Ryuji starts to walk away, pauses, and looks back at Akechi, a faint smile on his face. "Thanks..for caring though."

He runs off to his house, leaving Goro standing there confused.

  
  



	2. Crybaby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goro sighs, looking at his phone with a blank stare as he is laying down on his bed. He can always call him, ask him if he's ok, anything-
> 
> His phone rings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just  
Gonna make the chapter titles Melanie Martinez songs cause I'm binge-listening to her songs

He isn't acting normal.

The way he started to mumble during the phantom thieves meetings, the way he seems to not pay attention towards anything, the dark bags he's been getting under his eyes that  _ none of his supposed  _ ** _"friends"_ ** _ are pointing out- _

Something's wrong with Sakamoto.

Goro sighs, looking at his phone with a blank stare as he is laying down on his bed. He can always call him, ask him if he's ok, anything-

His phone rings.

He panics, and answers it right away, not even bothering to look at the caller id. "Hello?"

"A..Akechi?"

The detective sits up straight, his eyes widening in shock. "Sakamoto?" 

He sounded like he has been..crying.

He can hear the blond sigh in relief, and the bed creaking under him when he moves. "T..thank god you're awake.." he mumbled softly. Goro looks around his empty room, slight anxiety starting to hit him. "Why..did you call me, and not Kurusu?" The detective asks, now leaning against the bed rest.

"He.." Ryuji sighs softly. "He didn't answer..I tried multiple times, same with the others! But.." the blond sniffles. "They..they all didn't answer, so i..panicked and called you?" he says as his voice shakes from slight embarrassment.

Ryuji softly whimpers. "Oh god I'm so sorry you were probably either working or trying to sleep and I messed that up I'm sorry-"

"Sakamoto."

He stops talking, all that can be heard from the blond now is fast and sudden breathing. Goro pinches the bridge of his nose, sighing softly, trying to choose his next words carefully.

Panic attack, panic attack..what do you do for them again? What do you tell someone without just saying "calm down?" What do you dO-

Oh yea.

"Take deep breaths, count to five, hold for 5, than release." He speaks softly to the phone as to not sound angry. He hears Sakamoto whimper softly, but he does what he says. Akechi smiles softly, closing eyes.

After a few minutes, he hears the blond again. "T..thanks.." he says, and Goro can hear the faint smile that the blond has. "Of course."

There's a few minutes of silence, before Goro speaks again.

"Why did you call people in the first place, if you don't mind me asking?"

The blond hums softly. "It's stupid.."

"It's not stupid if you called when you sounded like you where crying."

He doesn't speak for a few moments, before sighing in defeat. "It..it was just a nightmare.."

"About?"

"....."

"Come on, Sakamoto.."

"..my dad."

The brunette stops for a moment, staring at the wall in shock. His..dad?

The blond laughs, but no sign of joy was in his laugh as he continues talking. "He's gone from my life, never to return again, but I still have nightmares about what he did to me and my ma.." he pauses. "Pathetic, isn't it? I should be over it..be strong for my mom..."

Akechi says nothing, biting his lips and thinking about what to say. "....it's not pathetic to be scared, Sakamoto.."

"I.."

"What did he do to you and your mother in the first place to have you scared like this?"

He hears the blond's breath get caught in his throat.

Goro eyes widen in the realization of what he just said. "Oh, that was probably a bad-"

"I'll..tell you at a different time.." he hears the blond laugh softly. "I..promise."

There is an awkward silence for 2 minutes, none of them not knowing what to say. "Hey..uh.." the detective starts, before he hears a whimper from Ryuji. "Sakamoto?-"

"I..I have to go.."

"What?"

"I-I have to go!!" 

The detective stares at his phone as the call abruptly ends. 

_ 'What..was that?' _

He tries to call again for a few minutes, his leg bouncing with anxiety filling his body as the calls go straight to voicemail. 

He shakes his head in defeat, sighing as he places his phone to charge. He can always ask him tomorrow when they have the next phantom thieves meeting.

...if he even shows up.

* * *

"Are none of you noticing Sakamoto's changes, or do you guys just not care?"

The group turns their heads to Akechi as he enters the coffee shop's attic. He leans against the wall, glaring at all them and trying his hardest not to snap at them.

"What do you mean?" Takamaki asks, lifting her hand away from petting Morgana and looking over at Goro. Sakura glances up from her laptop for once, her eyes showing confusion in them. "Ryuji seems fine?"

The detective bites his tongue, than sighs. "I know you guys sleep rather early, but did you guys seriously NOT wake up to him calling you guys MULTIPLE times last night?" He glances at Kurusu. "Especially you. You ARE his best friend, correct?"

Niijima places a hand on her chin, her eyes staring at the floor. "He..has been acting strange, now that I think about it."

Kurusu blinks, looking at her with confusion on his face. "He has?" 

Akechi never wanted to punch Kurusu more in his life than now.

"The way he seems to doze off in most of the meetings, his smile seems to drain..heck, he's usually the first one to show up to the meetings, and he hasn't been showing up lately ever since he lost his persona.." The student council president glances up, a look of worry suddenly filling her face.

"That's impossible.." Okumura says, but Goro can see the realization hit her face.  _ 'At least some people care..' _

Morgana shoots up from the table he is on, shaking his head. "You are telling us, there is something wrong with him?"

"Morgana, I understand you two don't have the best relationship, but.." Kitagawa starts to say, but the cat hisses softly.

"Ryuji Sakamoto, the person who always yells out "we are the phantom thieves!", the one who is horrible at keeping secrets, or anything for that matter, isn't telling us if something is wr-"

_ "Candidate Found." _

The cat stops what he was saying, looking at Akechi with a shocked face. "W..what?"

Goro bites his bottom lip as he held up his phone, showing he has opened the metanav.  _ 'God damnit..' _

"Does..that mean that Ryuji-kun has a.."

"Mona, I thought you said persona users CAN'T have palaces?" Kurusu turns to the cat, but Akechi can see the fear that the leader face shows. 

"W..well.."

Akechi looks around at the other members. Takamaki is covering her mouth in shock, Okumura looking like she's trying not to cry as she grips onto Niijima. Kitagawa and Sakura are just standing there in shock.

Sakura shakes her head, looking over at the cat. "W-well Mona?!"

"I..I don't know.."

"He..can't have one..there's no way.."

But the way the metanav beeped after Morgana said his name.

There is no denying it.

** _Ryuji has a palace._ **


	3. Show & Tell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akechi places a hand on his chin, thinking. What would Ryuji thinks of himself..he thinks back to all the times he's seen Ryuji stay in a corner as they all talk, the way he seems to be ignored by everyone(and, regrettably, himself included).
> 
> "Reject?"
> 
> “Match confirmed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The amount of support this is getting is making me go AAA VWVWJ

Everyone gathers around Goro's phone that is on Akira's bed. Goro is bouncing his leg anxiously as the others argue.

"H-how the hell did he even GET a palace?"

"You think I know?!"

"Well you ARE the one with the most knowledge of that world!"

"Well you are-"

"You all expect to find out what the keywords are when you guys are bickering like this?"

They glance at Goro, Akira lowering his head and Morgana simply just huffs. The detective sighs and stands up straight. "We want to go fast to save Sakamoto faster, do we not?" 

Morgana looks away from him, only giving him a nod of the head.

"So..we need to find his keywords, correct?" 

"That how it normally goes.." Takamaki plays with her hair as she said this, her eyes glancing back at the phone that lays on the bed.

They try everything they can think of that Sakamoto thinks of himself. King, (have they seen how he has been acting?) Star, (back when was on track team, maybe, now? You kidding?), anything. Kurusu leans on his hands while he sits at his desk, trying to think of anything. 

He looks up at Goro, a look of defeat on his face. "You got anything..?" 

Akechi places a hand on his chin, thinking. What would Ryuji thinks of himself..he thinks back to all the times he's seen Ryuji stay in a corner as they all talk, the way he seems to be ignored by everyone(and, regrettably, himself included).

"Reject?"

_“Match confirmed.”_

They all stay silent, Kurusu looking guilty as anything when the phone beeps in confirmation. 

"R..reject?"

"Surely we haven't been treating Ryuji-kun like a.."

Goro looks at Morgana, who is just looking at the floor at this point, his tail swaying with a guilty look on his face.

"Than why is one of the keywords.."

The room falls silent. Goro is trying his best not to lash out at them. _'You've been basically ignoring him, the only positive I've seen you guys exhibit to him is when he brought food once.'_

"...what would the other word be?" Goro asks, interrupting the silence." Makoto nods as she sits on the bed, rubbing the back of an almost crying Futaba.

"Maybe a school?"

_"Match not found.”_

"A Stadium?"

_"Match not found.”_

"....a Gym?" Goro asks, remembering where the blond frequency visits.

_“Match confirmed.”_

They all stare at Goro in shock. How did he know a keyword and they didn't?! Goro just raises his brow in confusion. "Well, we found it, are we going to go help him or not?"

* * *

They all stare at the gym, their breath freezing in realization of what they are going to have to do. Change Skull's heart, change Ryuji Sakamoto's heart, _change their friends heart._

Akira looks down at his phone, glances back up, and repeats. "Is..everyone ready?" The leader mumbles, looking back at everyone.

The rest of them nod, a look of determination in all of their eyes. Goro looks up at the gym one more time, before nodding himself. "Let's go." 

The world shifts around them as they enter the metaverse, the reds and blacks covering their visions.

Goro stares down at his hands, surprised to see the white gloves of his metaverse attire on him.

"He..already sees us as a threat?"

Crow looks up at Panther, noticing the tears in her eyes as she speaks. He sighs and looks at the Palace.

The Palace looks like the normal gym, but all the windows are broken, the front door all rusted and busted up, and the surrounding buildings decayed.

Goro can hear the leader gulp in uneasiness. "Let's..go in.." he mumbles, leading all if them inside the Gym.

Once inside, they can hear the sounds of gym equipment running and they see a shadow at the reception desk, tapping its fingers against the desk untill it notices the theives.

"Oh! You guys are finally here!"

Crow raises his brow. _'Finally here? What does that even..'_

Queen coughs into her hand, walking up to the desk. "Uh..I'm wondering, do you happen to know where Sakamoto Ryuji is?" She asks, tilting her head.

"Oh, he has been waiting for you all! He's in the volleyball area right now, just take a left and you will be there!"

The shadow bows its bead, and goes back to tapping on the desk in boredom. Akechi blinks, and looks at the others. They all seemed shocked, Joker is seemingly shocked still while Mona just blinks in confusion. "O..k?"

"Well.." Crow interrupts the silence, looking at the direction the shadow pointed to. "Shall we go?"

Kurusu shakes his head, getting back into reality. "R..right." he takea charge of the lead again, Crow right behind him. 

Him, Fox, and Joker all push open the gym door with a grunt. They all stare at the seemingly empty volleyball area, before they see it.

**Ryuji's Shadow.**

From what they can see, the shadow is sitting on the floor, some sort of chain around its neck, and part of its gym uniform that he is wearing torn up on its right leg.

The shadow hears the door close suddenly and jumps to its feet, turning to them. **"O-oh I'm sorry sir-"**

They all gasp at the sight of the condition of the shadow, Takamaki trying her hardest not to cry by what Crow can hear.

It's right eye is badly bruised, cuts, scars, and bruises linger all over the shadow's body, and its right leg bleeding badly from a nasty gash that seems to be ripped open from stitches.

Ryuji's shadow looks at them again and sighs softly, a small smile appearing on its face. **"O..oh..it's only you guys."**

"Ryu.." Joker tries to speak, his voice fading as he looks at his best friends shadow. **"I-I thought it was Kamoshida or my old man.."** it starts to walk to them. 

Goro cringes at the sight of the shadows limping towards them as it lands on its bad leg. **"I-I was worried you guys got lost when we separated a few days ago in the treasure room-"**

"Treasure room?"

Ryuji's shadow flinches harshly at the sound of Mona's voice. Goro places a hand on the shadows sholder, making him flinch more and pull away. _'Shit..'_

**"You guys..aren't.."** it stumbles back, its breath quickly picking up. 

"Ryuj-"

**"S..stay away!!" **

The shadow quickly runs to the back room of the volleyball area. Goro stands still before chasing after it before the rest follow him.

"Hey, Sakamo-"

_ **The shadow isn't there.** _

They all stare at the room before the door behind them slams shut and they hear the sound of the door locking.

Panther attempts to open the door, but she has no luck.

"W-what the hell?!" Mona screeches, now trying to open the other door in the room with no luck.

Goro notices a small file at the table in a corner of the room, and picks it up. 

_ **"Morgana's Room."** _


	4. Sincerely, Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They all stand still, not saying a word. Why does the file say Morgana's room? WHY does it say it?
> 
> "Are..we going to open it?" Queen asks, looking over at Joker. He stares at the file again, before nodding. "It might have something to get us out of here."
> 
> Goro gulps down the frog in his throat, and cautiously opens the file.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *uses a song from a musical that's a funny but uses it for Angst purposes*  
...
> 
> Anyway
> 
> I ran out of Melanie Martinez songs  
So I'm just gonna be choosing random songs now VSBSVS
> 
> Also most of these lines are improvised because i honestly cant remember what the thieves say to him cvfgbhjk
> 
> Hope you guys like the chapter!

Crow looks over at the file, flips it over, and looks at the front again.

"Morgana's..room?" He asks himself, not seeing the cats ears go up. 

"What? MY room??" Mona stops trying to unlock the door, instead deciding to go over to Goro. "What do you mean by-" he stops when he reads the name of the file. "W..wha.."

They all stand still, not saying a word. Why does the file say Morgana's room? _WHY_ does it say it?

"Are..we going to open it?" Queen asks, looking over at Joker. He stares at the file again, before nodding. "It might have something to get us out of here."

Goro gulps down the frog in his throat, and cautiously opens the file.

**Name: Morgana/Mona**

**Threat Level: _high, be cautious around him_**

**What Mona might do to you: _panic, doubt self, might become more defensive than normal_**

**Quotes and Notes:**

**_"At the very least, I’m more admirable than some carnal blonde monkey_!"**

_He is smarter than me..it makes sense that he would be more admirable than me, the <strike>w̶e̶a̶k̸e̸s̶t̸ ̷t̸e̷a̷m̵ ̴m̸e̷m̴b̷e̶r̶</strike> track team traitor.._

_ **"Oh Skull, you're pathetic."** _

_I..really am pathetic, aren't I? I can’t hit anything ever since Crow joined, he’s has been better at everything.._

**How to calm down if Mona makes you panic: _Unknown, best option for now is to say nothing and wait to cry when you get home_**

Akechi tries his best not to crumble up the folder in anger. He looks up from the folder to glare at Morgana. He is standing there, shocked at what is written in the folder. “I..” he stutters, looking around. “T-those were..uh..j-just jokes!"

"I doubt he would have a WHOLE ROOM dedicated to you if it DIDN'T affect him in some way, correct?" The detective rebuttals, putting his hands firmly on the desk. "I.." Mona bites his lips, his face covered in guilt. 

“Well?”

“.....” Morgana stays silent, going to the other side of the room as he shakes. Goro receives glares from the other team members, but he could care less right now. 

"..what the hell.." he places his hands on his head, taking a shaky breath before standing up straight again, looking more though the file to try and find the key out of this god awful room.

Akechi sees something shiny at the end of the folder, and grabs it, staring at the key. He looks up at the other members, before going to the door and unlocking it. 

"Let's go."

"Y..you aren't-"

"Do you want to save Sakamoto faster or no?"

Akira says nothing as him and the rest of them follows Crow down the hallway.

He lifts his head up as he hears whispers of people that aren't them. "What the.."

_"Oh look, its Sakamoto."_

_"Why is he still here? Doesn't he know he ruined the track team for the whole school?"_

_"Maybe if he didn't punch Kamoshida that wouldn't have happened."_

_"Pff, with his temper? It was bound to happen."_

"Are..these.."

"The students of Shujin Academy?"

The brunette stares ahead, almost too afraid to move. _'This..is what Ryuji hears everyday?'_ He thinks to himself, before pushing forwards until they see another door. 

"Another one?"

"Can't we.." Morgana pauses, before taking a deep breath. "Can't we go somewhere else? There has to be another way.."

"What, are you afraid that this room would ALSO be about you?" Goro growls. "We are going in here."

He pushes the door open, finding a slightly pinkish room with magazines all over the floor. 

"What even-"

"This looks kinda like my room.." 

Goro turns to look at Ann, the scared look on her face as she stares at the desk in the middle. Letting out a sigh, Goro picks up the file and opens it.

**Name: Ann Takamaki/Panther**

**Threat Level: _Moderate, be careful not to say anything <strike>s̴t̷u̴p̵i̷d̵ </strike>_** _ **bad around her** _

**What Panther Might Do To You: _question friendship, self confidence drops_**

**Quotes and Notes:**

_ **“Even if Ryuji asked for help on every subject, he’d still fail. He was never that smart to begin with.”** _

_Yea..I'm never really smart, am I? All I was ever really good at is running, and THAT I fucked up. Why do they even keep me on the team I'd I'm not that smart?_

The model falls to her knees, covering her mouth to hold back the sobs. "I..I didn't mean it..I.."

Goro stares at her, trying his hardest not to yell at her. Instead, he takes deep breaths as Queen tries to comfort her. "Panther.."

"I-I'm a horrible friend..! I couldn't protect Shiho, and now Ryuji has a.."

Makoto says nothing as she helps the crying girl to her feet as Goro opens the door with the key they found in the room. All the rooms they visited has the same sort of file for everyone.

**Name: Yusuke Kitagawa/Fox**

**Threat Level: _low, but watch out._**

_ _

**What Fox Might Do To You: _make you worry about your looks_**

**Quotes and Notes:**

_ **"You have no tact or class whatsoever."** _

_Ha..me, tact? Give me a break, I never even HAD it in the first place..I'm not smart like Makoto, handsome like Akechi, I'm just..nothing ever since I broke my leg_

Crow can barely hear the artist's tail jingle as he trails behind in shame.

**Name: Makoto Niijima/Queen**

**Threat Level: _Moderate_**

**What Queen Might Do To You: _self doubt, back thinking_**

_ <strike>A̵m̵ ̶i̵ ̴n̷o̸t̴ ̸s̴m̶a̵r̷t̶ ̶e̷n̷o̷u̸g̴h̵ ̵f̷o̶r̴ ̴h̴e̶r̶?̵</strike> _

**Quotes and Notes:**

**"Ryuji, can you try and focus on studying for once?"**

_Focus, focus..how can I focus when all of you are staring at me? Akechi seems to be the only one NOT staring at me_

_ <strike>P̶l̵e̵a̶s̷e̷ ̸s̴t̸o̴p̷ ̶s̵t̵a̵r̴i̶n̵g̷ ̶a̵t̸ ̷m̸e̵.̷.̵</strike> _

Goro hears Queens weapon fall to the ground as she lets out a small hiccup. As he turns to look at her, she picks up her weapons and nods weakly to go on ahead. 

**Name: Futaba Sakura/Oracle**

**Threat Level: _Low, but can still sting hard_**

**What Oracle Might Do To You: _remember that you aren't worth it_**

_ _

**Quotes and Notes:**

**"_Skull couldn’t get a date even if his life depended on it. He’s undateable."_**

_She's right..who the hell would want to date someone that limps, can't run, and gets angry easily?_

_ <strike> M̴a̷y̸b̷e̸ ̴A̴k̸e̶c̶h</strike> _

_No one_

_No one would want to date me_

Oracle whimpers, clinging on to Joker as she cries into his chest. "I..I didn't..i..i…"

Goro simply stays quiet, giving them a harsh look before continuing onward, but he couldn't help but think about the scratched out words on that page. It looked kinda like his name, but why would Sakamoto-

He shakes his head, opening the next door.

**Name: Haru Okumura/Noir**

**Threat Level: _Semi-low_**

**What Noir Might Do To You: _body issues, self doubt_**

**Quotes and Notes:**

_ **"Oh Ryuji-kun, I think these pants need to be handled by someone..more gentle?** _

_Gentle..yea. I'm too much of a punk to help out with simple gardening. I can barely eat without causing a scene, why would this be any different?_

Noir can barely hold back her tears, covering her mouth in shame as Akechi unlocks the door.

They all stare at the room before them. From what they can see, it looked like the Attic of Leblanc.

"Is this.." Crow turns to Kurusu, before opening the door. 

They same folder is in the middle, and Goro quickly snatches it before the others even have a chance. "H-hey-"

**Name: Akira Kurusu/Joker**

**Threat Level: _low, but can leave you scared and alone_**

**What Joker Might Do To You: _leave you behind, not help, make you scared for your life_**

**Quotes(none this time) and Notes:**

_He didn't say anything when Morgana(or the rest of them) kept insulated me_

_But it's fine!_

_Because he is my best friend_

_He wouldn't like..leave me behind right?_

_Oh, we are going to Shinjuku!_

_ **Oh god two guys are coming up ** _

_ **Akira help me** _

_ **Akira p̵̢̡̮̉͋L̸̟̗̳̏̉̆̚E̴͍̤̻̕A̸͍͛͜S̷̺̍͗ ̸͎̳̎**_

_He didn't help_

_He watched me get dragged away_

_What did I do wrong…?_

_Was I a bad best friend..?_

The last part makes Akechi's blood boil, he angrily slams the paper down, and grabs Kurusu by the jacket, resisting the urge to pull out his gun. "What. The hell. Did. You do?"

Fear coats the leaders eyes, his pulse starting to pick up. “I..I-”

“What did you do Kurusu?!"

The black hair leader clenches his fist to hide his shaking hands, and looks down while tears start to swell in his eyes. “I let him get dragged away by two men when we went to Shinjuku..I-”

_Slap!_

Joker holds his cheek in pain, staring up at Crow with panic and fear on his face. “W-wha-"

“Do you know…” Goro clenches his fist in anger, a small hiss escaping his mouth as he speaks. “Do you know what those men could have DONE to him Kurusu? What they might have scared your supposed “best friend”, yet you are saying it like it’s not that big of a deal…” 

Akechi lets him go, letting him fall to the ground. “This palace..was really all your guys faults..” He glares at all of them, snatches the key from the folder, and walks out the door in anger.


	5. Monster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The door looks like something straight out of a detective movie. Faded brown, with the glass of the window shattered a bit. 
> 
>   
"This is.."
> 
> "Crow's room?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm running out of names for the chapters fU-
> 
> anyway
> 
> this chapter was really fun to write? i feel really confident in this chapter cvfghjk

Goro stares at the next door, his legs shaking slightly as the rest of the thieves catch up with him. "Crow what the hell is your-" Mona starts, but then looks at the door.

The door looks like something straight out of a detective movie. Faded brown, with the glass of the window shattered a bit. 

"This is.."

"Crow's room?"

"We..have to go in.."

The rest of the thieves walked into the room, a worried look on their faces.

Before he can go in, Akira pulls Akechi to the side. "What is it Joker?" He growls, glaring at the leader.

"Don't you think you are being..TOO harsh?" Joker looks down, rubbing his neck where Goro almost grabbed him. "The looks you are giving them all...the way you grabbed me..we couldn't have known that this palace was-"

"Was what, basically all your guys faults?" The detective stares at joker, his reddish eyes not showing any sympathy. "That, you guys didn't think of what you were doing to him, what would happen if you _ kept _ insulting him?"

The leader says nothing, holding his head down in shame as Goro looks away, walking to his door. "Let's go Kurusu." 

Crow stares at his file that lays on the table in the middle of the room. He holds his breath as he opens the file.

**Name: Goro Akechi/Crow**

**Threat Level: ** ** _Unknown_ **

**What Crow Might Do To You:**

** _unknown, but be careful_ **

**Quotes and Notes:**

_No quotes. He..seems fine, I think? He still seems..suspicious though. He gives off _ ** _Akira_ ** _ like vibes..I'll stay alert as to not get <strike>B̷e̷t̷r̸a̶y̴e̷d̶</strike> misplaced again. _

The detective can feel his throat swell up. Same as Kurusu..same as Kurusu? Sakamoto thinks he might turn out like how Joker did?

His breath gets caught in his throat, before he opens the door, looking out to a dark room. "W..what is.."

**"You guys are still here..?"**

The team pauses, looking at where the voice came from. The shadow is standing there, its eyes looking at them with worry.

“Ryuji!!” The shadow flinched at the tone of the twin hair girls voice, and cautiously goes up to them, gripping something in arms tightly. 

**“You guys…”** the shadow looks down, taking a deep breath before looking back up at them. **“You guys shouldn't be in this area..it’s unsafe..”**

“Unsafe?” Goro looks around, tilting his head. “What is here exactly?” He asks the shadow softly, as to not try and scare the shadow.

There is a _ thud _ sound from across the room. Ryuji's Shadow quickly grabs Akechis’s arm, and starts to run. The rest of the thieves run after the both of them, panic filling their faces.

“H-hey!” Crow can hear the rest of the thieves yell at them, but the way the shadow is managing to run fast (A miracle considering how bad its leg must be hurting), they can barely keep up. The shadow finds a corner that both of them can hide in, and runs to it, losing the thieves that were behind them. 

“W-what are we running from?” Goro asks after a while to catch his breath, staring at the blond shadow. He can see what the shadow looks like from this angle better. The dried up blood of the gym uniform, the bags from exhaustion that linger under his eyes, and the multiple scars that linger its body. It looks up at him, before taking a deep breath. **“That was my-”**

They hear a loud scream, before the rest of the gang runs towards them. “R-run!!” Joker manages to yell at crow before they run past him. Goro looks over to the shadow. "W-what is-" The shadow isn't there anymore.He can feel the blood drain from his face as he hears the thuds coming closer. 

Crow quickly catches up with the rest of the thieves, almost running out of breath a few times from how fast he was panicking.

_ "You better get back here Ryuji!!" _

Akechi almost trips over himself when he hears a deep voice echoes through the hallways. _ 'The hell is that…?' _The detective asks himself, finally catching up to the rest of the thieves as they all hide in 

They all hide behind some boxes, all of them trying their best to calm their rapid breathing. "What.." Goro coughs into his arm, trying his hardest to catch his breath and whisper. "What the hell was that..?"

"I..think.." Joker gulps, poking his head out of the box for a second, before ducking back down. "I think that was his dad..."

"His.." he stops mid sentence, remembering the conversation he had with Ryuji last night.

_ The blond laughs, but no sign of joy was in his laugh as he continues talking. "He's gone from my life, never to return again, but I still have nightmares about what he did to me and my ma.." he pauses. "Pathetic, isn't it? I should be over it..be strong for my mom..." _

"What did his father do to him?" The detective asks, looking back at Kurusu. The leader runs the back of his neck, before sighing. "He was abusive to Ryuji and his mom..both verbal and physical." Goro can see Akira get more and more angry as he speaks. "Ryuji would do anything to protect his mom, so he would take most of the physical stuff to protect her. He left both of them to defend themselves one night, and never returned."

The whole gang is silent, Mona looking down while Panther holds him close and sobbing softly. Akechi can hear Joker growl softly. "That bastard scared him for life.."

_ "Where the fuck are you Ryuji?! You don't want me to hurt that bitch of a mother do you?!" _

Akechi jumps at the thudding getting closer and closer. “Wha-”

  
  
_ “There you are!!” _

“RUN!!!” They all get up and bolt down the hallway. “Oracle, is there a saferoom nearby?!” Crow yells at the Navi, his heartbeat in his ear as they run faster. “I-it’s the next left!” She yells at the answer. 

Akechi gulps as they turn. He hears a thud and turns around, seeing Joker struggling to get up. He looks at the back at the group as they run in the saferoom. He sighs. “God damnit..” He mumbles to himself, running to Akira and helping him up. “Come on Kusuru..” 

_ “Come back here you little brat!!” _

They look behind, seeing the monster getting closer and closer. “Oh fu-” They both run fast, and Crow can feel the monster try and grasp his small cape as they slam the saferoom door close. Both of them lean against the door as the monster slams on the door. 

_ “Come out of there and face me like a man, Ryuji!!!”_

The slamming against the door keeps going for a few minutes, before it stops, and they hear stomping get farther and farther away.

  
  
“I..believe we can head back out now.” Crow gets up, heading to open the handle of the door.

"We can't keep going on, Crow.."

Goro turns to Joker, about to yell at them about how ‘they have to continue’, but his face softens at the sight of them all. The girls are barely keeping it together, Oracle seemingly the worst as she is still sobbing quietly from the encounter, Fox looking away from the others, and Mona just simply staying quiet.

"..." Akechi sighs, then nods at Akira. "Yea..I guess..we can stop for today."

* * *

They all head out of the palace, Goro grunting as the exhaustion finally hits him. Akira holds an exhausted Futaba, looks at Akechi, and gives him a small smile, walking his way back to Leblanc.

The tired detective walks back home, putting his phone to charge and takes a shower. Once he gets out, he looks back at his phone. “..hm..” Akechi picks up his phone, scrolling down his contacts and clicks on the contact that says ‘Sakamoto’.

< Hey

< Just asking, are you feeling better?

Goro bounces his leg anxiously as he waits for a response. He almost gives up, before a small ping on his phone is heard.

> yea

> im feeling better now 

> tnx 4 asking though

> :)

Goro smiles lightly at the message, closing his eyes and takes a deep breath. He puts his phone back on the stand next to his bed and gets in, falling asleep with a certain blond haired boy on his mind.

  
  



	6. Wozwald

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He wants to tell him. Wants to tell him so badlythat he has one. Ryuji deserves to know what they are doing in his heart.
> 
> But he can't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *casually names chapter after one line in the song*
> 
> Anyway  
I wanna give a huge thanks to Indigoidiot(and the rest of the Ryugoro discord server tbh-) for betaing/fixing up some parts of this chapter!
> 
> Ily bish ❤

Goro is the first to appear at the coffee shop for the meeting after work, crossing his legs as he sits in Ryuji's regular seat. 

"You're here early." Kurusu comes up the stairs with 2 cups of coffee, placing one on the table in front of Akechi. "You look like you need it."

"..thank you." he mumbles, taking a sip of java. They sit in silence, the only sound being low clamors from the shop downstairs. 

"Why do you care for him so much?"

Goro jumps slightly at the voice, looking at the cat laying down on the bed. "C..come again?" The detective stutters, raising an eyebrow. “Why do you care so much about Ryuji? You barely even know him, yet you keep on wanting to go in head first. Why?” Morgana sits up, his tail swaying from side to side.

Akechi grips the cup tightly, taking a deep breath, and glaring at the cat. “You all clearly don’t care about him. Who else will?”

The cat falls silent again, only turning around to face the wall. 

“...should we check in on Sakamoto?” He asks Akira, looking back at him. The leader lifts his head up, before nodding slightly. “He didn't show up to school again today...I think he’s still at home.” Kusuru sets down his coffee. “And after what we saw with his dad..I think it’s only fair to go see him.” The brown haired detective nods, leaning against the chair as the rest of the thieves enter the attic. “We’ll go before we enter his palace, correct?” 

“Yea.”

“Got it.”

* * *

They all stare up at the small apartment complex, the anxiety filling their bodies. Goro looks back at them, before walking up the stairs to knock on the door. A lady around her thirties opens the door, tilting her head. “Hello?”

“A-ahh-” The detective coughs in his hand, trying to remember what he was going to say. “We are here to see Ryuji, is he here right now?” He asks, bowing slowly. 

“Oh, you are Ryu’s friends!” She opens the door wider, letting them all in. "He hasn't been feeling the best, so he's in his bed right now, hope you don't mind." She smiles softly. "Would any of you like some tea?"

Goro nods, looking around the small apartment. There are pictures of a young Ryuji adorning the place throughout, all taken before he dyed his hair, as indicated by his black locks in each image. He approaches one of the pictures, staring at the bright smile the young Ryuji has as he holds up a first place trophy.

He hears sheets ruffling in one of the rooms, and he instinctively goes over to investigate the noise. The room has small sports stickers on it, from football to baseball (it's a miracle that there wasn't a track team sticker on the door). Akechi knocks softly. "Sakamoto?" The detective whispers, hearing a small yelp from the blond as the bed creaks. 

"A-Akechi?" He hears Sakamoto sputter out. The detective sighs softly, hearing the blonds small voice. "Can I come in?" He asks, leaning against the door. "A-ahh.." he hears the blond sniff (was he crying?), and hears the door lock click. 

Goro opens the door, seeing the blond sitting back down on his bed. The room is...quite messy, but Goro didn't really expect more. He looks at Ryuji's face, seeing his red eyes and dried up tears. His heart aches at the sight alone.

"You..want something?" Sakamoto mumbles, rubbing his eyes and staring up at the brown haired boy. Goro blinks, and shakes his head. "Just..wanted to see how you were doing, since you didn't show up to the meeting yesterday, and our call..." he trails off, looking at the floor. 

Ryuji laughs awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I didn't...feel well?" He tilts his head, smiling softly at Goro. "I just had a stomach ache, that's all man."

"And today...?"

"W...well..." Sakamoto bites his lip. "I was tired from staying up all night yesterday..." he shakes his head, looking away. " 'm fine, ok...?"

_ 'Yes, you are fine despite having a palace and not even realizing it...' _ he wants to tell him. Wants to tell him so _ badly _ that he has one. Ryuji deserves to know what they are doing in his heart.

But he can't.

They don't have a secure path to the treasure. If they mess up on that...

"Hey, you look worried.."

He snaps out of his daydream, staring back at Ryuji, before giving him his signature celebrity smile. "Nothing, just thinking of work."

"Are...you sure dude?"

Akechi sighs. "Just...don't be afraid to come to us with any problems you’re having, ok?"

The blond waves his hand, smiling softly. "Like I said, I'm fine!" He rubs the back of his neck. "But..I'll take that into consideration."

Goro smiles. A genuine smile this time, not his fake one. He starts to head towards the door, looking back at Ryuji. "Good. Now rest up if you aren’t feeling well, ok?"

"...will do Goro."

* * *

They enter the safe room they were last in, their heart rates skyrocketing at the sound of thumping on wood floor.

"We need to find a way to get past that thing...it's way too strong for us to fight." Oracle chimes in, using her mask to see the monster that is Ryuji’s cognition of his father. Crow looks around the room. “Maybe we can sneak past it?” He asks. “We ARE phantom thieves, correct? We should be able to sneak by it if we’re careful.” 

“That’s-” Morgana starts.

“That’s not a bad idea, Crow.”

Mona stares up at Joker, a shocked look on his face. “W-what?”

  
  
“Like he said, we’re phantom thieves. We have to sneak our way past him.”

Goro smiles, straightening his back. “Well then, lets go, shall we?”

* * *

Joker leads them all down the dark hall, Oracle gripping onto Crow’s sleeve a little too tightly as they approach the door leading to the next room. “Should we pick up the pace?” Mona whispers, looking at Akira. The leader comtemplates before nodding. “Yeah, I don’t think that thing is near.”

The team gets ready to run, before they all hear a loud thud.

_ “Ryuji!!!!” _

“GO!!” Joker yells, not caring for his volume anymore.

They all rush towards the door, slamming it shut with a slam and locking it once they all get through. “That thing…” Mona pants, looking back at the entryway. “That thing is insane…”

“Um...everyone?” Noir points to the next obstacle in the room. “What...is that...?”

Goro is the first lay eyes on what Haru is pointing at, and he can feel his heart drop at the sight.

There standing before them, was a cognition of Kamoshida, gripping the chain on Shadow Ryuji’s collar.

"W...what the hell..." 

"Th...that looks like how Kamoshida looked like in...his palace."

"A king?"

Goro just stands there, flabbergasted at the cognitive form of the ex track coach. The way shadow Ryuji yelps every time it’s collar gets pulled… it makes him sick.

“We need to stop that thing.”

“W-what?!” Oracle looks at Goro, her face full of panic. “T-that thing is ridiculously strong!! I-I don’t know if you guys can-”

Noir looks up at her, her face determined. “We need to do this for Ryuji-kun! We...we don’t know what that creature might do to him in real life!!”

Mona closes his eyes, before nodding. “Crow and Noir are right. If we do this, we can get a path to the treasure much easier if we defeat that cognition.”

Panther cracks her neck, looking at Kamoshida with pure rage in her eyes. “I’m gonna get that thing’s attention..” Goro looks at her, a confused look on his face. “Takamaki, you know it’s dangerous-”

“I need to redeem myself..” She walks forwards. “For Ryuji..” Akechi looks at her, before nodding. “If..you say so.”

Ann stands straight, before cupping her hands to her face. 

“HEY, KAMO-SHIT-A!!!”

The monster looks up from Ryuji’s Shadow, dropping him. The smaller shadow crawls away from the huge pink monster, pushing himself into the corner.

**“Oh ho ho..what is this?”**

Joker gulps before getting out his daggers. “Fox, Mona, Panther, come with me. Everyone else stay on guard.” "Joker, you know I can-" Joker shakes his head at Goro, looking at him for a second.

“It’s fine Crow.” Joker lets a loose smile to him. “Go make sure his shadow is okay for me, ok?”

He stands still for a second, before nodding, sneaking his way past Cognitive Kamoshida and to the blonde's shadow.

"Hey-"

The shadow jumps, putting its arms up out of reflex. **"P-please no-"**

"Sakam-" he stops, before taking a deep breath. "...Ryuji."

The shadow blinks for a second, its arms dropping from around his face to look at Akechi. 

**"A..Akechi?"** The shadow mumbled, looking around carefully before allowing his strained body to relax. Goro lets out a sad smile, before nodding.

Ryuji's shadow stares at the floor for a while. Akechi can hear the other thieves fighting the cognitive monster.

"Hey-"

The shadow suddenly grabs his arm, causing the detective to jump.

“Sakamoto, wha-”

  
  
**“Stay here with me…”**

Goro blinks, staring at the shadow with a confused look. “W..what?”

**“Stay here with me.”**

Its grip on Goros arm tightens.

**“You make me feel safe."**

Goro can hear Joker command the team to do an all out attack. 

**"You make me feel wanted for once in this miserable life of mine..”**

He can hear the cognition cry out in pain.

**"So, please.."** the shadow has tears rolling down its face. **"Don't leave me, stay here..make sure they won't hurt me anymore."**

"....." Akechi gulps. He feels horrible for having to say this, but..

"...let me find a path to the treasure." He says as calmly as he could, making the shadow flinch. 

"I promise, once we do, I'll spend time with you." He feels horrible for lying to the shadow. He knows that the shadow won't exist when they steal the treasure. But he has to.

"Promise...?"

"...promise."

The shadow let go Akechi's arm, nodding softly. "If...you say so." 

The shadow hears the thud of Kamoshida falling on the ground, and quickly runs to a different part of the Palace, a panicked look on its face.

Goro reaches out to him, sighing when he runs off and out of sight. He hears footsteps behind him, and turns to look at the rest of the group. 

"The treasure is that way." Mona points to a room off to the side, his tail pointing up. Goro closes his eyes, nodding. 

"But.."

Goro tilts his head, looking at Panther. "But what?" 

"The door is locked.." Haru looks down. "And we have no idea how to unlock it."

Akechi walks towards the door. Near the door, there are chains laying on floor. The only thing that remains on the door is a single grey chain.

Goro notices a sign next to the door. He reads what the sign says. 

_Need complete_ _documentation to enter._

"Complete documentation? What does that.."

The files.

Akechi gulps, looking at the rest of the team, before going back to them.

"We should be heading back now, no?" 

"Hm?"

"We have a secure path." Goro looks at them. "And we should start writing the calling card as soon as we can."

Joker looks at him, a confused look on his face. "But..the door.."

"I'll keep care of that." Goro smiles. "Trust me."

The team looks confused, but they all nod. Crow look back at where the shadow ran off too, a small frown on his face.

_ 'We are almost there..' _


End file.
